


underneath this kevlar skin (i am waiting for you to uncover me)

by BloodRaven55



Category: RWBY
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, and some, it's mostly just soft bees
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:35:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24821701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodRaven55/pseuds/BloodRaven55
Summary: Blake thought back to the battle they'd been in during the training mission earlier, mentally matching each mark on Yang's skin to a blow her partner had taken in the fight before unleashing her Semblance, and her stomach turned as a wave of nausea washed over her. She'd always imagined that Yang's Semblance somehow protected her from feeling all of the hits she took to fuel it, but clearly that had been naïve wishful thinking.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 16
Kudos: 202
Collections: Bmblb





	underneath this kevlar skin (i am waiting for you to uncover me)

**Author's Note:**

> I've seen the headcanon that Yang would sometimes have bruises etc. after a fight if her aura had been depleted due to her fighting style and Semblance, and I felt like writing something based on it so here we are.
> 
> Specifically this was loosely inspired by [this great art](https://banancrumbs.tumblr.com/post/621321470702911488/tw-bruises-bmblb-week-day-two-scars-expand).
> 
> Lyrics in the title are from Kevlar Skin by Kamelot.
> 
> Anyway... enjoy!

Most mornings Blake would wake before Yang, the habit of rising early having been drilled into her in the White Fang, and today had been no exception. She propped herself up on her elbow, enjoying the way that the sunlight streaming through the window made Yang's hair almost glow, casting her wife in an even more radiant light than usual. Blake's smile hardened into a frown, though, as her gaze drifted down to take in the medley of bruises scattered across Yang's body.

Her wife had returned in the early hours of the morning from a hunt that she and Weiss had been on for the past week, and her aura must still not have quite kicked in to heal the marks spread over her arms and back. The physical toll that Yang's fighting style and Semblance took was vividly painted on the canvas of her skin, and while it wasn't quite such a gut-wrenching sight as it had been the first time Blake had seen it, she still felt the pain her wife had endured like an ache in her chest.

Blake reached out with her free hand to trace idle patterns on Yang's skin, keeping her touch as gentle as possible. She couldn't take away the injuries, but she could at least try to soothe them until her wife's aura replenished fully and took care of them on its own. Her mind wandered, and she couldn't help remembering the very first occasion on which she'd seen Yang like this in the aftermath of combat.

* * *

_When Blake headed back to the dorms she expected to find their room fairly quiet since Weiss had just messaged her to say that she and Ruby were going to do some work in the library for the rest of the evening. She suspected they wanted some peace after the arduous training mission they'd been put through that afternoon, and she couldn't say she blamed them._

_Lost in thought, she swiped her card and pushed open the door to their room without paying much attention, and she was met with a sight she hadn't expected. Yang seemed to have just got out of the shower if the way her skin was glistening slightly was anything to go by, but that wasn't what caught Blake's eye. Since her partner was only wearing sweatpants and a bra her back was mostly visible, and it was littered with dark, angry-looking bruises._

_Blake thought back to the battle they'd been in during the training mission earlier, mentally matching each mark on Yang's skin to a blow her partner had taken in the fight before unleashing her Semblance, and her stomach turned as a wave of nausea washed over her. She'd always imagined that Yang's Semblance somehow protected her from feeling all of the hits she took to fuel it, but clearly that had been naïve wishful thinking._

_“Blake?” She started at the sound of her own name, realising that Yang had noticed her standing awkwardly in the doorway._

_“Are— Are you okay?” Blake mentally kicked herself for asking such a pointless question—of course Yang wasn't okay—but she didn't know what else to say. She stepped forward into the room, letting the door shut behind her,_

_Yang glanced down at herself, like she’d only just figured out how bad it looked, and shrugged in a heartbreakingly casual manner. “Yeah, don't worry about it. My aura will come back in a while so that'll take care of it.”_

_Blake wanted to object that it could be hours before that happened and that Yang shouldn't have to be in a constant state of pain until then, and argue that even if the marks would heal it still wasn't okay for her partner to let herself be used as a punching bag in every fight, but she didn't feel like they were close enough for that yet. Maybe there was something else that she could do, though._

_“I might be able to help with that if you want.”_

_Yang looked a little confused but curious, wincing as she stretched out her stiff muscles. “I mean, I'm not gonna say no.”  
_

_Blake nodded, taking a few steps closer until she was standing in front of her. “Okay, but tell me if it feels weird or anything, yeah?” She hesitated a moment, jagged shards of memory rising to the surface. “Is it alright if I touch you?”_

_“Of course,” Yang said. “I trust you, Blake.”_

_It was probably a totally offhand comment from her partner's perspective, but Blake felt warmth spread through her at the knowledge that Yang actually trusted her. She had plenty of experience feeling uncomfortable and unsafe around someone she should have been able to rely on, and she would have hated if she'd made Yang feel the same way about her._

_She carefully took Yang's hand in her own, interlacing their fingers and closing her eyes. She regulated her breathing and her heart rate, trying to relax and clear her mind, and then she extended her aura just a fraction. Yang gasped, but instead of pulling her hand back she simply tightened her grip a little, and Blake let the contact linger for several long moments before finally letting go._

_When she opened her eyes she found that most of the bruises had disappeared from Yang's skin. There were still a few faint marks here and there, but they were far fewer in number and looked much less painful than they had before. An awkward silence descended until Yang suddenly seemed to realise that she was still basically topless, and she rushed to grab a shirt from the wardrobe._

_“T-Thanks,” Yang said when she was fully dressed. “That really helped a lot.”_

_“You're welcome,” Blake managed, still distracted by how intimate the process of sharing her aura with Yang had felt. For a brief instant, it had almost been like she could touch Yang's soul. She wasn't sure if the sensation had been unnerving or intoxicating._

* * *

It would probably be a while yet before Yang woke up given how late she'd got home the previous night, so after a few minutes Blake lay back down, settling behind her wife again and curling a protective arm loosely around Yang's waist. She left a soft kiss over a bruise on Yang's shoulder blade, feeling a wave of tenderness as she closed her eyes and breathed in her wife's familiar scent.

Yang murmured something unintelligible in her sleep, shifting a little closer so that there was no space between them, and Blake couldn't help smiling at how cute her wife could be. Yang was the strongest person she knew, the toughest fighter with the biggest heart, and it made the moments where she was just so incredibly adorable all the more special. On instinct she pressed one last kiss to the curve of Yang's shoulder, content to stay in bed and try to get some more sleep until her wife woke up.

She would never _like_ that Yang threw herself in front of an enemy’s blows the way she did, but that selflessness was a part of her wife that she adored, so she had come to accept it. And if nothing else, at least she could be there afterwards to take care of her when she needed it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Like always any feedback except for non-constructive criticism is not just welcome but much appreciated. See y'all next time <3


End file.
